Chapter 134: Gods or Heroes (II) - The Hero that Loved

The oldest of the Valkyries, known to many as the Shield-Maiden of Norse Mythology. She is a fearsome warrior in the time when the Norse Gods were still lurking on Earth, the Gods of the Norse and some Gods in other pantheons recognize Brynhildr as one of the most powerful Heroes in the world.

Her strength is unparalleled to the other Valkyries, even some Norse Heroes such as Eric Bloodaxe and Gunnar Hamundarson can't be compared to a monster like her. After all, it's because unlike other Heroes from history she is a God, some like the Nine-Tailed Fox Jiuweihu and the Monkey King Sun Wukong are an example of such Heroes that has the blood of a God flowing inside of them.

They are a special kind of Heroes that any normal Heroes wouldn't be able to overpower, it's just the rule that was set in stone by Asherah when she created the Heroic system, it's always been the Gods to take a lead on everything.

In both power and technique, nothing could ever topple the Heroic Gods, they're just in a league of their own; only another Heroic God could defeat another one, it has been proven many times by the history of warfare between the Heroes of humanity.

But that wasn't the case at all, in every generation of new Heroes there is always someone on top and what shocked the Gods the most is that Heroes who have no divine blood on them have stood on that pedestal many times already.

And Heroes like Brynhildr have met one of those humans who have set themselves high on that pedestal, and that person she has met and battled was none mother than the dragon-slayer Sigurd.

The two once had a duel and the result made everyone surprised, because this was a rare turn of an event in the eyes of the Gods who were watching, even if Sigurd has gotten extraordinary powers at the time he defeated the evil dragon Fafnir it wasn't still enough for the Gods to recognize him as Hero.

This is why during the time Brynhildr and Sigurd were together, Odin didn't like what he was seeing. For him, seeing a filthy human touching his strongest daughter was unforgivable, for him, Sigurd dirtied Brynhildr who was one of his pride and joy due to her amazing feats.

This is why Odin wanted Brynhildr to marry another God so that he could have powerful grandchildren, which is why he wanted to separate the two as hard as he can.

For a powerful God like him separating the two is something he can do in a blink of an eye or worse he could make the two forget each other and kill each other against their own will, but right now Odin can't do all of those even with the help of the other Gods.

During the time Odin punished Brynhildr and encaged her in a flaming cage, also the day when Sigurd saved Brynhildr happened after the end of the first Great God War, after that bloody war ended the Gods has weaken and so they couldn't come to Earth anymore and interfere with the balance of nature, which is why he couldn't do a single thing to stop Sigurd from marrying Brynhildr.

Yet what Odin wishes to do was blessed by fate itself...

A shocking revelation...

Crack!

A scene desired by fate itself...

Crack!

A woman blessed by the Gods...

Crack!

And a man cursed by many...

Crack!

The string of separation that the world has woven is truly a terrifying thing to experience, such monstrosity shouldn't exist yet it does...

True love made out of pure commitment and intimacy has always fallen victim to the hands of such a monstrosity, people from around the world- whether humans or Gods have fallen victim to that monstrosity of a predator, and only a few have defeated them but some like Sigurd and Brynhildr stood no chance of defeating it.

So... Without their knowledge and consent the two soon fall grace out of each other and their love ended without them being aware of it.

Which is why... "Which is why Sigurd left me..." Sigurd left her.

The light on her body faded and multiple cracks keeps on appearing on her body. Luna and Freyja were shocked at what was happening in front of them.

"Brynhildr! Return at once! Brynhildr!" Freyja kept on shouting her name so that she could return to her body, but no matter how much she called for her Brynhildr wouldn't respond to her order. "She wouldn't respond? What's happening?"

The cracks on her body then started to let out a dark ominous light and the spear she was holding started turning into a dark purple color. "Sigurd... Sigurd... Sigurd..." She kept saying the name of the Hero she loved more than anyone else, the memory of hers and Sigurd damaged her mind and heart and she couldn't take it anymore.

"Brynhildr..." Luna was worried that she was the cause of what was happening to Brynhildr, but her pride as the next Archduke of Hell is what's stopping her from going to her and helping her, even if she wanted to help one of her childhood heroes she still has a mission that she needs to do. "Sorry Brynhildr, but even if I considered you as my childhood Heroes, in the end, demons and Gods could never be in harmony together." Luna grabbed her scythe and ran to Brynhildr, hoping to kill her now that she was defenseless.

Freyja looked at Brynhildr in pity as she watches many falling tears in her eyes and the cracks growing bigger. "Brynhildr... Out of all the people in our pantheon, you are the only one I look up to in high regard, you thought me that even a God like us can love someone who's not a God, which is why I'll kill you to stop you from getting hurt again..." Freyja grabbed her spear and flew toward Brynhildr.

A single tear came out of Freyja's eyes as she remembers her memories with the Valkyrie Brynhildr: happiness, sorrow, anger, and envy... She remembers feeling all of those different emotions toward Brynhildr, something she wouldn't call normal for a God. "You gave me a reason to live Brynhildr... Thanks to you, I know what it means to love, even if I'm aware that this love of mine is filled with lust and obsession, but still, I want it to be exactly like yours Brynhildr."

"Shield-Maiden Brynhildr..." Luna snickered as she remembers listening to Hans telling her the story of Brynhildr and Sigurd, the way her eyes glittered as she enthusiastically listened was always sealed in her memory. Remembering the part of their romance always excites her heart, which is why she always wanted to be Brynhildr; the one she aspired to be. "You were my hero and idol, thanks to your tragic love, I found someone I can love... So as thanks, I'll kill you to end your suffering right now."

The two moved at the same time; weapons directly pointing at Brynhildr's head, even if their heart is hesitant to kill someone who shaped their views on their living, it was still something they needed to do. The life of a hero and a dear friend is important, but if that life is nothing but tremendous suffering then she's better off dying instead of submitting herself to pain.

"Brynhildr!" The two shouted her name at the same time, they were close to her now and their weapons were directly pointing at her neck.

And at the same time, the two are filled with resolve to save the Hero Brynhildr, nothing can stop them now, even if the Gods or any man may stop them they won't comply, that's just how much they wanted to save the Shield-Maiden Brynhildr.

"Rest in peace!" Their words resonated as they shouted their last message to Brynhildr; body moving at top speed to quickly kill her painlessly as possible, their blade intertwined with one another and they released a strike filled with their feelings: Love, respect, jealousy, and pity. All of those emotions are put in together to create one powerful move to stop the suffering of the Iron-Maiden Brynhildr.

Crack! A strong cracking sound came as soon as the two hit the neck of Brynhildr, they were now behind her with their weapons pointing upward like two delusional children striking a pose once they'd won a single game.

'Did we do it?' That was the first thing they thought of, they looked behind her to check if they'd accomplished what they were supposed to do.

The moment they caught a glimpse of Brynhildr they saw her looking at him menacingly while standing still, the cracks on her body worsen but it doesn't look like their weapon affected her body.

They were confused about what made the loud cracking sound but as soon as they saw her look above, they realized what it was. The two looked at their weapon and saw their blades had lots of cracks and soon after they stare at it the blade of their weapon fell.

"Hehe, nice try." A mysterious voice that's unfamiliar to Luna but Freyja knows mockingly said on their mind. "Don't think you can beat her that easily with that weak attack."

"Who's that?!" Luna looked around to check for the mysterious man who spoke to her mind, she checked Freyja to ask her if she has any idea who the man was and saw her face filled with immense bloodlust and rage from hearing that voice.

"That d*mn f*ggo of a mage! I knew that he was up to something!" She covered her face with her hand to cover her anger, but her wrath toward that mysterious man was intense that hiding it was useless.

"Freyja do you know who that man was?"

Freyja heaved a heavy sigh from disgust, she doesn't want to talk about the mysterious man but she wanted to explain to Luna what she think the man is up to. "Listen, Luna, even if that man is not a God he is a massive threat to the entire world, he is a Hero but at the same time due to his cynical and sadistic attitude, I would deem him more of a villain than a hero."

She remembered what the mysterious man has done to the world in the past, every memory she remembered of him was filled with disaster, even if the man helped humanity a bunch of times he still did more evil than good; to the point that even the evil God of the Norse Loki acknowledges that the man was more sinister than him.

All of those bad things that he did make Freyja worried about what was about to happen next, she looked at Luna and held her shoulders. "Listen, Luna, I don't have the right to say this to you but I want to say that I care about your and Haruki's safety."

Luna was surprised at what Freyja said, but when she looked at her eyes she could see the sincerity on her eyes. "Thanks..."

"Luna, even if we're gonna fight in the future many times, I won't ever kill you and your friends and I'll also do my best to protect all of you." Freyja smiled melancholically as she think of how much Luna loved Haruki.

'What am I even saying to Luna? Is it because of how much she loves Haruki that I'm willing to protect her? Seriously, what a pathetic God am I... But I guess this is what my heart is telling me, nevertheless, Luna and Haruki is a good kids, so it's worth the time protecting them.'

"I'm only saying this to you Luna and I want you to tell this to Haruki and his sister only, can you do that?"

"Of course." Luna replied, still shocked at what was happening.

"Listen, the man that just spoke to us is far more dangerous than Zeus, even if he's not as strong as Zeus and Odin in terms of raw power and skills, his intelligence and cunning attitude is what makes him far more dangerous than the Gods, even I admit that if he has time he could defeat Zeus and Odin alone."

"So what you're saying that the mysterious man is the greatest threat on Zeus' side?" Luna was worried that Zeus has a formidable ally, if what Freyja said was true then she knows that they now stood no chance in facing Zeus's army.

"No... He is not on anyone's side, he is not the type of guy to join anyone's side in a war due to him enjoying spectating the disaster of the war, but if he happens to find the war boring and joins in that's when the war would drastically change."

"So you mean he's a third party in the Great God War?"

"Yes, he's both an enemy of Zeus' and Poseidon's side, but at the same time if he feels like it he would join either of the side, but I know for a fact that no one would accept him because of how troublesome of a guy he is."

"I see... So why are you telling me this?"

"Because you're the only one I could trust in telling you this, right now he has your real body and Haruki as his hostage, so I want you to save him and get your body back, while I deal with Brynhildr who has been controlled by him."

"Okay, but what he's his name? If he's a famous Hero then I might know his weakness."

"I'm afraid I cannot tell his name, if I mention his name at least once he'll know everything I did and said."

"I see..." Luna gritted his teeth now that she has found out who the mysterious man was.

She was worried of Haruki's safety now that she knows why he fainted. "Freyja, thank you. I'm glad you told me this, but how can I save Haruki?"

"Close your eyes and I'll send you to where he is now."

Luna nodded and closed her eyes, she let out a sigh and let out a serious face. "Freyja, I'm really grateful that someone like you are for me."

Freyja smiled when she heard Luna's word and she patted her head gently. "I'll send you to him now."

"I'm ready."